Needle threader



July 6, 1937. w. w. JOHL I 2,086,272

NEEDLE THREADER Filed April 14, 1936 INVENTOR.

I V/ALMM l KJw/L Patented July 5, 1937 I .UNETE sir-s NEEDLE THniiAnEa,h William W. 30111, Groton, (Jenn, assig'nor to Mair Pollack & Company,

inc, New York, N. Y., a.

corporation of New York Application April 14,

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in spools for thread and hasparticular reference to a needle-threading attachment for such spools.

An object of the invention is to provide an im- "o proved device ofsimple and practical construc- The above and other objects will appearmore clearly from the following detailed description when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing which illustrates preferredembodiments of the inventive idea.

In the drawing:

Figure l is an end elevation of a spool of thread showing the device ofthe present invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of said spool, partly broken away and shownin section, and with the device attached.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the spool and I device, illustratingthe manner of threading a needle, and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing another form of theinvention.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 to 3, the numeral 5 indicatesan ordinary spool on which sewing thread 6 is wound, said spool havingthe usual opening 1 extending therethrough.

The attachment of the present invention may be made from a single pieceof thin metal or like material in the form of a disc-like plate 8preferably of a diameter less than that of the end of the spool 5 andadapted to be centrally located on said end. For this purpose, thecenter of the plate has extending laterally therefrom 40 a collar 9 of adiameter to fit snugly within the opening I in the spool and to furthersecure the plate upon the spool, the former has struck therefrom aplurality of pointed lugs l designed to be driven into the end of thespool. At diametrically opposite points adjacent the periphery of theplate 8 the same also has struck therefrom the thread-retaining ears Hwhich are slightly bent outwardly relative to the plane of the plate sothat the free end of the thread 6 on the spool 50 may be readily engagedbeneath said ears, as clearly shown in Figure 1, so as to hold the endof the thread when not in use and thereby prevent its unwinding from thespool. By reason of the disposition of the ears I I, the portions of the65 thread engaged between the ears II will extend 1936, Serial No.74,239

over the opening 1 in the spool so that the thread may be readilygrasped to detach it from the ears preparatory to severing a desiredportion of the thread from the spool.

The invention also contemplates the provision of a device which willfacilitatethe operation of threading a needle. In Figuresl to 3, thisdevice, generally indicated by the numeral i2, is formed integrally withtheplate 8 by being struck therefrom. To accomplish this, the peripheryof the plate 8 is cut away or reduced, as indicate-d at E3, on oppositesides of a thin strip of the plate which, after the cutting operation,forms a hook i l. The plate is further cut along parallel lines whichextend diagonally with respect to a radius of the'plate and to a pointadjacent its center to form the shank of the threading device E2, thediagonal disposition of said shank enabling it to be of sufiicientlengthto impart a degree of flexibility to the device to enable the freehooked end thereof to be raised slightly away from the surface of thespool when said end is extended through the eye of a needle 55, as shownin Figure 3. When the threader is not in use it lies substantially inthe plane of the plate 8 and against the end of the spool where itwillnot interfere with the packaging of a number of spools in a carton, orbe likely to catch upon other material when the spool is placed in asewing basket.

In practice, when it is desired to thread the needle 15, the free end ofthe thread is first de-.

tached from the ears H and a desired length of the thread then unwoundfrom the spool, after which the thread may be re-engaged with the earsand then severed. The eye-end 0f the needle is then engaged with thehook Hi to raise the same slightly so that the hook may be passedthrough the eye of the needle to the position shown in Figure 3 in whichthe needle will be held'by the threader against an adjacent portion ofthe plate 8 and in a position substantially at right angles to thethreader. The length of thread it is then looped and the bight of theloop is engaged with the hook it. Then, with the thread held under aslight tension so as to maintain it in engagement with said hook, theneedle is drawn off the device l2 and onto the thread It. In so doingthe loop of the thread will pass through the eye of the needle and afterthe thread has been detached from the hook I l one end of the thread maybe pulled through the eye, whereupon the needle is completely threaded.

The form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4. is the same as thatabove described with the exception of the needle-threading device. In

Figure 4, this device, indicated by the numeral i1, is made from aseparate piece of thin spring metal having at one end an enlargement l8through which is extended a screw l9 or other fastening device utilizedto attach the device I! to the plate 8. Said device is extendeddiagonally with respect to a radius of the plate so that the device maybe of sufiicient length to easily flex the same, and the free end of thedevice terminates in a hook 20 disposed within the confines of thecircumference of the spool 5, and, in this instance, projecting slightlybeyond the edge of the plate 8 so that it may be readily engaged in theeye of the needle being threaded.

In both forms of the invention, the plate 8 may be provided with anumber of slight indentations 2| in its outer surface any one of whichmay receive the eye-end of a needle when it is necessary to force thelatter through a thick piece of fabric.

What is claimed is:

1. A device adapted for attachment to the end of a spool of thread,comprising a disc-like plate having means to secure the same to saidend, and a flexible needle threader aflixed at one end to said plateadjacent the center thereof so that it can be flexed outwardly from saidplate, and having a free outer end provided with a hook capable ofpassage through the eye of a. needle and of holding a looped threadwhile said needle is withdrawn from said threader and onto the loopedthread.

2. A device adapted for attachment to a spool of thread, comprising adisc-like plate secured to an end of said spool, and a needle threaderformed from the material of said plate to provide a flexible shanktherefor normally disposed substantially in the plane of said plate,said shank extending diagonally relative to a radius of the plate andhaving a free end provided with a hook.

3. A device adapted for attachment to an end of a spool of thread, saiddevice comprising a disc-like plate having means to secure the same tosaid end, said plate being reduced at a point in its periphery and thencut inwardly in a direction diagonal to a. radius thereof and alongspaced substantially parallel lines to a point adjacent the center ofthe plate to form a needle threader the outer end of which terminates ina hook disposed Within said reduced peripheral portion of the plate.

4. A device adapted for attachment to a spool of thread, comprising adisc-like plate having a flexible needle threader struck from a portionthereof and normally disposed in the plane of the plate, the inner fixedend of said threader being adjacent the center of the plate and its freeouter end terminating in a hook spaced slightly from the outer edge ofthe plate, said hooked end flexing outwardly from said plane wheninserted through the eye of a needle.

5. A device adapted for attachment to the end of a spool of thread,comprising a disc-like plate having means to secure the same to said endso as to be disposed entirely within the confines of the outer edgethereof, and a flexible needle threader aflixed at one end to said plateadjacent the center thereof and having a free outer end provided with ahook capable of being flexed to a position offset from the plane of saidplate by the passage-of said hook through the eye of a needle and ofholding a looped thread while said needle is withdrawn from saidthreader and onto the Z looped thread, said threader being disposeddiagonally relative to a radius of said plate and having its hooked endspaced from the adjacent edge of the plate and terminating short of saidouter edge of the spool.

WILLIAM W. JOHL.

